BLAZING MUSIC + SOUND BRINGS MCKINNEY’S VISION TO LIFE WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR SOUTHERN COMFORT’S CONSUMER GENERATED WEB SITE

RALEIGH, N.C. (Dec. 4, 2007) – Blazing Music + Sound provided McKinney with custom music for Southern Comfort’s (SoCo) Night Institute website featuring the Night Institute recruitment video and the “Dancing with a Drink in Your Hand” webisode.

McKinney approached Blazing wanting a cheesy ’80s rock star themed piece. “We wanted lyrics to be funny but without clashing with the music,” said the agency’s broadcast producer, Rich Beck.
                                                                                                     
Composer Aaron Keane of Blazing Music + Sound collaborated with creatives at McKinney to create five or six rough versions. Keane actually went to the McKinney office with guitar in hand to present initial ideas; then the music was finished in Blazing’s recording and mixing suites, with McKinney participating on site.

“Aaron nailed it and was very quick to bring in the right vocals,” said Beck. “The process went very smoothly, even with the fast turnaround of about two weeks. The team at Blazing is very talented and great at listening to feedback and producing the desired product.”

“Once again, Blazing Music + Sound exceeded our expectations with their responsiveness, fast revisions and fast turnaround,” said Walker Teele, McKinney’s management supervisor on the SoCo account.

"When I need a collaborator who can take it to 11, I look to Aaron," says copy writer Brian Murray.

The goal of the Night Institute site is to help the participating audience to achieve better nights by providing nightlife knowledge. Legal drinking age consumers can go to the site and take any of the courses or generate their own to share their know-how with others. It is a fun and entertaining environment combined with real, useful information.

To view SoCo Night Institute’s “Dancing with a Drink in Your Hand” webisode visit  http://www.soconightinstitute.com/takeCourse/course.aspx?id=1382.

Blazing Music + Sound (www.blazingmusicsound.com) provides all aspects of music and sound production, including original music composition, voiceover recording and sound design. Its clients include McKinney, Rockett Burkhead & Winslow, McCann Erickson, National Geographic, Fine Living, Fox Sports Network and PBS. Blazing Music + Sound is a division of Trailblazer Studios (www.trailblazerstudios.com).

McKinney is an advertising agency pioneering the industry in conversation planning, the art and science of building strong emotional and transactional connections between brands and the right people.

Founded in 1969, the Durham-based agency has created some of the most innovatively integrated marketing communications programs, including Audi of America’s Art of the Heist, Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome, the Polaris CEO Duel and the launch of the Sony Bravia LCD TV. McKinney’s clients include Audi of America, Brown-Forman Corporation’s Southern Comfort, Coldwell Banker, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Major League Gaming, The NASDAQ Stock Market, Qwest Communications, Select Comfort, Travelocity, Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Two-time winner of the Yahoo! Creative Summit and one of the top EFFIE-winning agencies in 2007, McKinney’s work is also recognized by the Cannes Advertising Film Festival, the New York Andy Awards, the One Show and the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s MIXX Awards, among others.